Weekly Menu

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We've had an awesome week, filled with lovely feast days to celebrate. Next week I'm taking it easy. It's the beginning of May, so I'm focusing on the Blessed Mother. I'm also trying some new recipes. It's really beginning to feel like spring and I'm ready to try some new dishes -- something fresh and not a casserole.

Saturday
Lunch: Skyline chilitos
Dinner: Burgers, fries

Sunday
Dinner: Appetizer night -- Kansas City Hot Wings, Cowboy Caviar, Taco Dip
Dad wants wings, so we'll make it an easy night

Monday
Lunch: pancakes
Dinner: Lime Cilantro Pork Tacos, guacamole, salsa and chips
We're living dangerously -- oink, oink (jk!)

Tuesday
Lunch: pizza bread
Dinner: Asiago Roast Beef Sandwich, chips, fruit
College boy has a job at Panera and I'm going to try to recreate all of our favorite sandwiches at home. This one looks easy -- an asiago cheese baguette (I may cheat and buy this there), roast beef, cheddar, lettuce, red onion, tomato and horseradish. Sounds good to me.


Wednesday
Lunch: Taco salad
Dinner: Chicken Pesto Pizza, salad
I saw this dish at Annie's Eats? Have you been there? She is graduating from med school, has a baby, and she cooks. Unbelievable.

Thursday
Lunch: Subs
Dinner: Sweet and Sour Pork, white rice

Friday
Lunch: bread, cheese, fruit
Dinner: Cheese Lasagna, salad, bread

* Tried and true
* New to me

Mmmm, Tiramisu

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Yesterday's feast day, one of many this week, brought Tiramisu to the dessert table. Usually I make a Twinkie Tiramisu, a recipe borrowed from one of the Walt Disney resort restaurants. But at college boy's urging (come on, mom, make a real one!), I made a true tiramisu, sans Twinkies. I combined a few recipes and came up with one that was simple, but tasted pretty authentic, although, I am in no way an expert on authentic tiramisu. Let's just say it was more authentic than that which is made with Twinkies.

Tiramisu

8 oz. mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1/2 c. sugar
2 1/2 c. whipping cream, divided
1 t. vanilla extract
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 cup espresso, or double strength coffee, cooled
1/4 c. coffee liqueur (Kahlua)
2 (3-ounce) packages ladyfingers
1 T. cocoa

Beat cheese, sugar, 1/2 cup whipping cream and vanilla with mixer
at medium speed until creamy.

Beat remaining 2 cups whipping cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar
together at high speed until soft peaks form.
Fold cheese mixture and whipped cream together.

Stir together espresso (or double strength coffee) and liqueur.
Quickly dip each ladyfinger, one at a time, into coffee mixture.
(The best way to do this is dip and then place the ladyfinger in the serving dish
because they disintegrate quickly)

Arrange one-third of ladyfingers in bottom of a large glass bowl.
(If using a round bowl, you may find it helpful to arrange ladyfingers
in a "wagon wheel."
Just use halves to fill in the gaps --
you can't see how the ladyfingers are arranged
once the dish is assembled.)


Top with one-third of cream mixture.
Sift cocoa over the cream (about 1 teaspoon).
Repeat twice.
Sprinkle with final layer of cocoa.
Chill tiramisu at least 2 hours.

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St. Joe Cupcakes

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My St. Joseph Raspberry Cream Cupcakes recipe is up over at Catholic Cuisine.





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Tastes Like Spring

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Like pumpkin is to autumn, lemon is to spring. For me, it just belongs.

A slice of Lemon Poppy Seed bread, warm from the oven, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (from the local shop). Mmmmm.

Happy Zita Day to me.






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Wilted Spinach Salad

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Here's a quick recipe that's really delicious with a light springtime meal (or as a light spring meal). When I was a teenager this was my favorite "eat out" dish. Whenever my mom treated me to lunch out, I always ordered a Spinach Salad if it was on the menu. I've not made them at home very often, but with the recent addition of fresh washed baby spinach to the grocery store produce department, I have found this to be a super easy dinner salad. It would be great with just a baked potato for dinner. Or, I will just eat this salad and let the guys scarf down the meat at dinner.

Just a note -- even if the spinach package states it is washed, I give the spinach a quick rinse with water and a whirl in the salad spinner. You never can be too safe.

Spinach Salad

8 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
5 slices red onion, cut in quarters
3 eggs, hard boiled
5 mushrooms, thinly sliced
5 slices bacon, diced and fried in a pan
1/4 cup cider or white balsamic vinegar
3 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. dry mustard
1/8 t. pepper

Rinse and dry spinach leaves.
Place in a bowl and top with onions, mushrooms and sliced eggs.
Fry bacon and remove bacon pieces from pan,
leaving bacon grease in the pan.
Add vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard and pepper and whisk over medium heat
until dressing is bubbly.
Sprinkle bacon bits over the salad.
Pour hot dressing over spinach salad and toss gently.
Serve right away.
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Cappuccino Mousse

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Charlotte's recipe for Cappuccino Mousse was well-received last night to celebrate the feast of St. Fidelis, a Capuchin priest. I filled ramekins with the mixture so we could each have our own serving to dip and served it with Pepperidge Farm Cookies. Easy and yummy!

Charlotte's Cappuccino Mousse

1 c. milk
3/4 c. cold strong coffee
1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
2 T. sugar
2 c. heavy whipping cream
1/4 c. sugar

In a large bowl, beat milk, coffee, pudding mix (dry) and 2 T. sugar with a wire whisk for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. In a chilled large bowl, beat whipping cream and 1/4 c. sugar with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Gently stir whipped cream into coffee mixture. Refrigerate about 15 minutes or until set.


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Weekly Menu

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This week was a real winner in the meal department. Except for the German Spaghetti, which I liked, and Doug liked, but only one of the kids would even really give a chance, every meal was a six thumbs up -- a rare occurrence.

The Spicy Pork Po' Boys were a huge hit last night. Maybe partly because we ate late and every one was really hungry, but the meat was very tasty and most of us (except those who don't eat pickles) really enjoyed the sauce. I used sub buns instead of baguette and toasted them in the oven -- good combo of crunchy, hot, cool, creamy.



Saturday
Lunch: Skyline Chili
Dinner: Pizza -- some Atsa Spicy Sausage, pepperoni, mushroom and some peppers, Deep Dish Brownies and ice cream

Sunday
Lunch: Ham and Potato Hash, scrambled eggs, French Toast Cups
Dinner: Grilled Chicken, Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce, Asparagus and Peas, bread, Creamy Lemon Squares

Monday -- Feast of St. Zita
Lunch: leftover pizza
Dinner: Baked Steak, mashed potatoes, buttered corn, Lemon Poppy Seed bread for dessert (I think I must be in the mood for lemons!)

Tuesday -- Feast of St. Gianna Molla
Lunch: grilled hot dogs, fruit
Dinner: Bucatini and Fontina Cheese Sauce, salad, bread

Wednesday -- Feast of St. Catherine of Siena
Lunch: Ham Cubans
Dinner: Teriyaki Pork Chops, Baked Potatoes, green vegetable, Tiramisu

Thursday
Dinner: Grilled Italian Sausage with peppers and onions, Asparagus Pasta salad

Friday - Feast of St. Joseph the Worker
Lunch: nachos
Dinner: Fish Provencale, roasted potatoes, salad, bread, St. Joe's Raspberry Cream Filled Cupcakes


*Tried and true
* New to me

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St. George's Dragon

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He's not going to win an beauty contests (especially if he gets the gay marriage question), and he's not going to win any taste tests either, but it was fun. Now don't go clicking over to Charlotte's because my poor St. George dragon will just get an inferiority complex.

I did not bake a cake from scratch because then I would have been crushed if it fell apart. And though it was all junk ingredients, it didn't taste all that bad. With a scoop of Breyer's strawberry ice cream, it was quite passable.


The 411:
(1) Duncan Hines yellow cake
(2) Pillsbury Creamy Supreme vanilla frosting dyed with green food color
(1) Cake Mate orange frosting in a tube (I wouldn't let the kids eat the spikes because this stuff was so vivid)
(4) chocolate Easter eggs
(1) Cake Mate frosting in a can -- black
(3) Twinkies

I used Charlotte's "map" to cut and place the cake pieces. All in all, it was pretty easy.

Notes to self:
Use chocolate covered grahams set on the diagonal instead of cake spikes.
Cut a larger piece for the head and then the Twinkies will fit better for the eye sockets.
Use orange and red fruit roll-ups for flames.
Charlotte's Kissables on the tail are pretty darn cute, and the white chips for the claws are cute, too.

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Upcoming Feast Day Plans

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I'm excited to get back into some saint feast day celebrations. It seems like it's been a while since we've celebrated with a favorite Catholic saint. And while we're getting back to celebrating, we have a favorite saint almost every day for the next week or two.

Tomorrow is the feast of St. George. Last year we celebrated with a Bakewell Tart, which was good, but other than its origin in England, had nothing to do with St. George. It lacked the "fun" of a celebratory dessert. This year I'm going to attempt Charlotte's Dragon Cake.

Friday is the feast of St. Fidelis, a Capuchin friar in the 1500s. I think we'll turn to one of Charlotte's recipes, again, and enjoy some Cappuccino Mousse (posted here) and Pepperidge Farm cookies for dipping.

On Monday is the feast of St. Zita, who is known as the Little Cook. I haven't planned my menus that far in advance, but a lovely loaf of bread is sure to be on Monday's menu.

St. Gianna Molla's feast is Tuesday, and so I'll plan an Italian dish to celebrate her day.

St. Catherine of Siena is on Wednesday, and since we're having an Italian dinner Tuesday, we'll have to put an Italian dessert on the menu for St. Catherine -- maybe a Twinkie Tiramisu.

And then on Friday, May 1, is the feast of our beloved St. Joseph the Worker. I have a recipe for cream-filled cupcakes that have become a St. Joseph feast day favorite in our house and I'm going to post it at Catholic Cuisine.


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Grilled Chicken, MTB Sandwiches

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It just takes too long to say Grilled Chicken Mozzarella, Tomato, Basil Sandwiches, especially when five people ask you, at east once, "what's for dinner?" It's especially annoying when you post the menu on the fridge every week and they still ask, every day.

My kids are surprising me lately with their "grown-up tastes." I planned these sandwiches for dinner yesterday, but I really thought most of the children would eat just chicken and bread. All but one, however, ate the whole sandwich, with M,T, and B. They were good. I actually think the kids liked them better than I did, but it was chilly out and I was more in the mood for comfort food. They all gave it a thumbs up, so here it is. I'll try it again when it gets warmer outdoors.

The impetus for the creation of these sandwiches was a quick interview I heard on the radio the other day with someone from COSI. I've never eaten there, but heard an interview with someone from the restaurant and he was talking about this sandwich which is on their menu. It sounded yummy. Since I haven't eaten there myself, I had nothing to go on, and looked up some recipes online. I ended up doing my own thing anyway. I used a lemon-herb marinade that I like and cut back on the lemon juice a little. I didn't want it to be extremely lemony. And I took a shortcut by picking up some French Country bread at Giant Eagle -- it was a day I wasn't going to have time to bake bread. The French Country bread looks like a regular baguette, but it is softer in the middle and the crust is not quite so hard. It was easy to eat. I really wanted ciabatta rolls or soft flat bread but couldn't find any.

Grilled Chicken, Mozzarella, Tomato and Basil Sandwiches

serves 6

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each cut into 3 cutlets
(cut through the breast horizontally so you get a thin slice that is
the same width and length as the breast)
Lemon-Herb Marinade (below)
2 large tomatoes
2 large mozzarella balls, sliced into thick slices
12 large basil leaves, rinsed and dried
6 ciabatta buns or
2 long loaves French Country bread, cut into six-inch pieces
Italian salad dressing (optional)

Marinate chicken for two to four hours in refrigerator.
Remove from marinate and grill on medium-low for a few minutes on each side
until chicken is cooked through.
On each bread piece, layer two slices chicken,
two slices cheese, two slices tomato and two basil leaves.
Dress with a few teaspoons of your favorite Italian Salad dressing, if desired.
Top with bread top and smash top down.



Lemon-Herb Marinade

1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
3 T. lemon juice, fresh or bottled
1 t. minced garlic
1½ t. dried thyme


Combine oil, juice, garlic and thyme.
Place chicken breasts in a shallow bowl or ziploc bag
and pour marinade over chicken.


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Hot Cross Buns

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It's past the liturgical season for Hot Cross Buns, but for future reference I'm posting the recipe I used this year and will use again in the future. I have tried many recipes and am not usually happy for several reasons. First, I usually make Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday, which I always believed to be the traditional day for them. I have a problem, however, with eating anything so delicious on such a penitential day. It just seems wrong; I'm not in the mood. This year, however, I made them on Friday night for Holy Saturday morning -- much better. They are not so sweet as to be a real treat, but on Holy Saturday they were good, really good, to break our fast.


I've also had a problem with the fruit that is usually found in Hot Cross Bun recipes. I should say my kids have a problem with it. They have refused to eat them, year after year. So this year I just gave up and left the fruit out. Maybe next year I'll put currents in half the batch. This recipe is just right for us, so it's a keeper. They were yummy -- just slightly sweet and very soft. The recipe is pretty much original -- I combined and adapted several recipes.

Hot Cross Buns
Printer version

1 1/2 cups scalded milk
1/2 cup warm water
1/3 cup butter, softened, plus 2 T. for brushing
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
6 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 T. yeast
scant 1 t. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cloves


Heat milk in the microwave or on the stove until very warm.
Pour milk into mixing bowl and add butter.
Let sit until butter gets very soft.
Add water.
Add 3 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and spices and stir,
using dough hook attachment of mixer.
Add eggs to flour mixture
(if not using a mixer, stir by hand with a spoon).
Mix at medium speed until all ingredients are combined.
Add flour, one half cup at a time,
kneading with dough hook for several minutes,
until dough is smooth and elastic
(or knead by hand).
Place in greased bowl and cover with damp cloth or greased plastic wrap.
Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.


Grease two 9 x 13 pans.
Form buns (use a piece of dough slightly larger than a golf ball for each)
and place in pans.
Cover again and let rise until doubled.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, until golden brown on top.
Remove from oven and brush with 2 T. melted butter.
Cool on racks.

After buns are completely cooled, place frosting crosses on top.




Frosting

4 T. butter, softened
4 c. powdered sugar
4 - 5 T milk
2 t. vanilla

Whip butter with whisk beater attachment on mixer.
Slowly add powdered sugar and completely incorporate.
Drizzle in milk and vanilla.
Whip until thick and of good spreading consistency,
adding more milk if necessary
(but you want it to be very thick and hold its shape).
Place frosting in a zipper plastic bag.
Snip one bottom corner and squeeze frosting out to form crosses on rolls.

Weekly Menu

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That was a really quick week. Why do the "break" weeks go by so much faster than the "work" weeks? Well, the light is at least at the end of a tunnel and we can almost feel summer in the future (although snow is predicted for next week).




Saturday
Lunch: Grilled brats, chips

Sunday
Brunch: French Toast Cups, Ham and Potato Hash
Dinner: Birthday Party (ugh)

Monday
Lunch: Tomato Soup and Cheese Quesadillas
Dinner: Spicy Pork Po' Boys, Sauteed Zucchini and Garlic

Tuesday
Lunch: Corn Dog Muffins
Dinner: Slider-style burgers, Spinach salad with Warm Bacon Dressing, oven fries

Wednesday
Lunch: Cheese, fruit and bread
Dinner: German Spaghetti, bread, green vegetable
My Kids are probably going to reject this dinner just at the smell, but I have been wanting to try it. It sounds like an odd sort of tetrazzini with German flavors.

Thursday
Lunch: Baked potatoes
Dinner: Grilled Chicken with Tomato, Basil and Mozarella Sandwich, chips, fruit

Friday
Lunch: Cheese nachos
Dinner: Salmon Nicoise Salad, bread

* Tried and true
* New to me

Atsa Spicy Pizza Sausage

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I tried this pizza sausage recipe a few weeks ago and have had the picture on my computer since. Though not my recipe, it's worth re-posting because it's goooood. I had never made sausage before, but how easy it was! I really liked buying my own lean ground pork (if your grocer doesn't have any you can ask your butcher to grind a couple lean pork chops) and white meat ground turkey. It was nice to know exactly what was in my sausage meat. The recipe came from myrecipes.com and received a five-star review. I divided the recipe into thirds and that was plenty for one pizza night. I stored the other two-thirds in the freezer. The sausage would also be yummy cooked with some peppers and onions and placed on Italian rolls.

This was all sausage and half red onion and red peppers --
the onion and pepper side was really yummy.

Atsa Spicy Pizza Sausage

1 pound ground turkey
1 pound ground pork
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese
1 T. fennel seeds
1 1/2 t. crushed red pepper
1 t. salt
1/4 t. dried thyme
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, crushed


Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned,
stirring to crumble. Drain.

Note: The sausage can be frozen in zip-top plastic bags for up to 3 months.


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Black Bean Soup with Fresh Salsa

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So many recipes, so little time.

Today's dish is a yummy Black Bean Soup that is wonderful for meatless Fridays. We (dare I say?) enjoyed it on Good Friday. Even the children like this soup -- it's pureed, so it's really just great flavor they are getting (along with some good vitamins and fiber) and no yucky vegetable chunks. I serve it with a dollop of sour cream and a spoon of fresh salsa -- and we usually add salsa as we eat -- it really freshens up the tastes. You could enjoy it with corn tortillas chips or warm flour tortillas, but that was little too yummy for Good Friday. I served it with a loaf of Spanish bread. Besides being a great meatless dish, it's also a budget dish.

Black Bean Soup

2 cups dried black beans, washed and picked over
¼ cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
2 T. ground cumin
1 lrg. jalapeño chili, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
2 t. salt
6 cups vegetable stock

fresh salsa
sour cream

In a large saucepan, place black beans and
fill with water to cover beans with about 2 inches extra.
Let soak for 6 to 8 hours.
Drain soaking water.
Fill with fresh water to just cover beans.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until beans are soft (one to two hours).

When beans are soft, in another large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat.
Cook onions until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
Add garlic, cumin, salt and jalapeño, cooking 3 to 4 minutes (do not burn garlic).
Stir in black beans and their liquid and mix well.
Pour in vegetable stock.
Turn heat up and bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered,
stirring occasionally, for 20 to 30 minutes.
Transfer to blender in batches and puree until smooth.
Return to pot and heat through.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh salsa and sour cream.





Fresh Salsa
4 medium ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded and finely diced
1/4 c. red onion, finely diced
2 jalapeño chilies, stemmed, seeded and diced finely
1 bunch cilantro, leaves only, chopped
2 T. lime juice

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Easter Recap

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We had an awesome Easter -- I hope you did, too. We went to brunch at my mom's house and enjoyed a great breakfast casserole with sausage, green pepper and potatoes -- kind of a Western omelet in a casserole. It was yummy. And my own Easter dinner turned out really well, if I do say so myself. I'm glad I didn't let my husband talk me into trying a new recipe -- I was comfortable with everything I made and it tasted great together.

The Scalloped Potatoes (sans ham) were cooked just right and I sprinkled the top with Parmesan cheese for a nice toasty brown top. And the Sweet Potato Souffle dish was completely empty after dinner, so that was obviously a hit. The Roasted Sesame Asparagus was wonderful -- thick, tender, in-season stalks made it perfect. Everyone seemed to enjoy the House Salad which was tasty with the other dishes. I think everything had just the right balance of sweet and salty to go with the ham.

And speaking of the ham, I bought a Giant Eagle brand whole, bone-in, spiral-sliced ham. I followed the heating directions on the package and I had to take the ham out of the oven about 90 minutes before dinner because I was afraid it would be dry. It didn't need near the time the directions allow -- 15 minutes per pound, which would have had me baking my 15.5 pounder almost 4 hours. Two hours would have been more than enough. When I realized it was hot throughout, I took it out of the oven, left the foil cover on and let it sit on top of the hot stove for an hour while the other foods baked. About 30 minutes before dinner, I popped it back in, foil off, basted with pan juices and glazed with a Pineapple Brown Sugar glaze (recipe below). It was a little dry around the edges, but had great flavor and was easy (so easy) to prepare.

My sister-in-law brought an appetizer for dinner that was a huge hit, especially with my hungry boys. She had a big tray of Italian hummus bruschetta (I'll try to get the recipe), peppered salami slices, slices of a salsa cheese (both of which she bought at Giant Eagle), crackers and big purple grapes, along with a plate of deviled eggs. I think after snacking on candy all day, we were all hungry for something salty and spicy, and it hit the spot.

This was a dinner that I will remember because all of the flavors went so well together and everything came together well time-wise, which is often a challenge with big meals.

Pineapple Brown Sugar Glaze

1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
3 T. orange juice
3 T. cornstarch

In a small saucepan combine pineapple juice, brown sugar and honey. Heat over medium heat. Stir cornstarch into orange juice in a small dish. Add to brown sugar mixture and heat to a boil. Let simmer for a few minutes until sauce thickens. Baste on outside of ham and them bake for 20 to 30 minutes.

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Weekly Menu

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Next week is our Spring Break week and I am really looking forward to relaxing. Ha ha ha ha ha! Sorry, that was a little sarcastic, wasn't it? We're having a lot of familyness around the house these days, and I say that with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek. I look forward to having high school boy home from school, but not the bickering that is involved with everyone together. So, I'm planning some outings and a few lunches out to keep everyone distracted..



Monday
Dinner: Paula's Hash Brown Quiche, fruit salad, muffins

Tuesday
Lunch: Hot Browns
Dinner: Cheesy Chicken Bundles, mashed potatoes, buttered corn

Wednesday -- I'm doubling this meal and taking half to a neighbor
Dinner: Beef Stew, Bread, Cranberry Waldorf Salad, Chocolate Chess Pie

Thursday
Lunch: ham sandwiches, chips, fruit
Dinner: Chicken Flautas, Mexican Rice, Salsa, Birthday Cake for the Holy Papa

Friday
Dinner: Nicoise Salad, bread

* Tried and True

Easter Menu

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We'll have a small crowd on Easter Sunday for dinner. My husband and I agreed on ham for the meat, but he tried to talk me into making Scalloped Sweet Potatoes for a side. He enjoyed them recently at a local eatery, but I don't want to try a new recipe on a Holiday. So I'm making both Scalloped Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes as a happy compromise. My mother-in-law is bringing a strawberry and pineapple fruit salad and my sister-in-law is bringing an appetizer. We'll enjoy my Grandma's Hot Milk cake for dessert, along with all the chocolate goodies that come on Easter morning. I think I'll jazz up the recipe a bit this year with a layer of raspberry jelly in between the cake.

Glazed Ham
Scalloped Potatoes
Sweet Potato Souffle
Roasted Sesame Asparagus
House Salad
Bread

Strawberry and Pineapple fruit salad
Hot Milk Cake

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A New Favorite Wine, or two, or three

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I am not very adventuresome with wine. I do enjoy it, but like clothing, it's too expensive to experiment a lot. And like clothes, if I find one I like, I stick with it (I've been known to own the same blouse in three colors). My old favorite wine is no longer available locally, and since I didn't love it enough to mail order a case, I went looking for a new favorite wine. It was a tough job, but somebody had to do it. It didn't take long to find one, or two, or three.



My new favorite white wine is a Vouvray, which is a French wine, apparently from the Loire Valley near a little town called, whatdoyaknow, Vouvray. It is made from the chenin blanc grape and has a medium-dry, not too sweet, and clean taste. I generally drink wine before dinner and not with, and this wine makes a lovely before-dinner treat. The good thing about this new favorite is that the label I like, Barton & Guestier, is available at several local grocers. At least for now it is. I feel like the kiss of death sometimes -- as soon I decide to like anything, it disappears forever. This Vouvray is about $10 a bottle. It would be a wonderful wine to go with your Easter ham, as would the Gewürztraminer below.





My other new favorite wine, because a girl must be balanced, is a red. I generally drink white, but lately I'm trying to expand my interests, and they say red is good for the heart, along with a bar of chocolate, ya know. My husband's beloved Uncle Eddie and Aunt Karen brought us a bottle of this wine for pizza night a year ago and it grew on us. Actually, I loved it from the first taste, but now I seek it out and thoroughly enjoy it with my Saturday night pizza. This wine has the Francis Ford Coppola label on it and is a blend of Zinfandel, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, called Rosso. I call it "red light." It's not heavy like a true Cabernet and it goes really well with spicy food. And unlike the expensive Coppola wines, it's about $10 a bottle, or on sale for about $8.






My third new favorite I just discovered last night. We had some out-of-town friends over for dinner and I was serving a spicy pork tenderloin. Unsure what wine would pair well with it, I did a little hunting on the Internet. I found a lovely wine-lovers forum that suggested spicy pork be paired with a German wine -- something with enough oomph to challenge the meat. Several types were suggested, but I chose the Gewürztraminer, mostly because it was available. Quite a mouthful, but a lovely mouthful it is. It did pair nicely with the spicy pork, in my most unprofessional opinion. And it would be nice with cheese and fruit before dinner (or for lunch on a rough day), or a salad and bread supper. It was just a little bit spicy, which actually was great with the spicy flavors of the pork, and a little sweet. I bought the Columbia Crest, a Washington State vineyard, because our Giant Eagle had no real German labels. In fact, they had four different Washington State Gewürztraminers, so the climate in Washington must be similar to the cool German region where the Gewürztraminer grape is grown. Not surprising to me, Columbia Crest ferments this wine in stainless steel tanks, which is why it is so clean, and probably one reason I liked it so much. This wine was regularly $12 and was on sale for $9.

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Weekly Menu

I was planning to take it real easy this week with meals -- partly penitential and partly just because I need it to be easy. My husband, however, invited out-of-town friends to dinner on Tuesday. I'm going to be driving around the city picking up kids on Tuesday late afternoon, so I'm planning to grill, rain or shine. I think we'll eat soup and sandwiches the rest of the week.



Saturday
Lunch: boys at grandma and grandpa's doing yard work
Dinner: Pizza -- I'm going to try this sausage recipe

Sunday
Lunch: Bacon eggs and Cream Cheese Danish
Dinner: Chicken Tetrazzini, steam sugar snap peas, bread

Monday
Lunch: grab a bite out after doctor's appt.
Dinner: Reubens, cole slaw, chips


Tuesday
Lunch: leftover pizza
Dinner: Grilled Pork Tenderloin (Santa Fe style rub) and Firecracker Salsa, Sesame Roasted Asparagus, Creamy Potato Bake, bread, Fruity Cream Cheese Tarts

Wednesday
Lunch: Chicken noodle soup
Dinner: Sierra Turkey Sandwiches, fruit, cottage cheese

Thursday
Lunch: Pretzels and lunch meat
Dinner: Chipotle Sloppy Joes, broccoli slaw, fruit

Friday
Lunch: bread and cheese and fruit
Dinner: Black bean soup; warm, plain tortillas

* Tried and true
* New to me

Cornmeal Crusted Catfish Nuggets

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When I started making dinner last Friday, I realized I was not using the recipe that I had linked to the way it was written. I guess I can't fairly say it's a great recipe if I alter it. So, I jotted down my changes and here it is. Not a great picture, but the vultures were circling. In case you've never eaten catfish, I'll tell you it's good stuff. Not fishy -- very delicate and tender. Yummy. I buy fresh USA farm-raised whenever I can. The other stuff mostly comes from China and I just don't trust their farming practices all that much.

Cornmeal Crusted Catfish Nuggets

1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 T. paprika
1 t. seasoning salt (I use Lawry's for this recipe)
1/2 t. pepper
2 pounds catfish
4 T. vegetable oil

Combine cornmeal, flour and seasonings in a shallow bowl.
Rinse catfish fillets with cool water and pat dry with paper towels.
Cut catfish into bite-size nuggets -- about the size of a chicken nugget.
(I think I get about 6 nuggets from each medium-sized fillet.)
Heat oil in a heavy skillet.
A few at a time, dredge catfish nuggets in cornmeal mixture.
Cook catfish nuggets, in batches, over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes or until golden,
gently turning to brown each side.
Add more oil if pan gets dry.
Don't cook too many at a time, or they'll steam instead of fry.
Serve with lemon wedges and tartar sauce.


Tartar Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 T. pickle relish
2 T. minced onion
a big squeeze from half a fresh lemon

Stir to combine.
Chill until ready use.


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